Letters
by yami-marron
Summary: Every wizard in the world was aware of the battle wherein Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald, in 1945.But none of them could tell you what occured between the two powerful wizards years before the incident, or years afterwards. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

1945

"It's over.." Muttered the red-haired wizard, who was looking at unconscious man who was lying next to him.

Fortunately, only unconscious, because, for a short moment, it seemed that spell casted by the red-haired man was lethal.

But steady breathing assured Albus Dumbledore that his enemy had only lost consciousness.

Albus bent and looked at the face of the man whom he had evaded for years and with whom he was forced to fight in the last 10 hours.

Dumbledore have never seen Geller Grindelwald lying calmly like that. Never.

When he woke up from his thoughts he took the wand, which rightfully belonged to him now, from the blond's hand ,

Once upon a time he had wanted to claim it, but now he had a feeling that the price was too high...

In the area of rubble in which this fight took place, arrived the Aurors.

"Dumbledore...Is he...?" Shouted the commander, coming closer.

"He's alive..." Answered the wizard quietly and stood up.

"Are we supposed to end this quickly or painfully ?" asked the Auror with grim vengeance, but Dumbledore only waved his hand in annoyance.

"He will live."He saw that the Auror was starting to ask a question, but he himself didn't know the answer.

He didn't know why, but even if he would never see him again, even if death was, for Grindelwald, much better than prison, this time Albus Dumbledore decided to be an egoist.

For reasons unknown to him, he wanted Gellert to live.

"Lock him up in Nurmengard"

Aurors were finishing cleaning up after the fight, when one of them walked to Dumbledore.

"We have investigated Grindelwald's was letter with your name on it," Said the wizard looking suspiciously on red-haired man.

But Dumbledore was puzzled himself.

"Thank you," He answered and started to investigate the envelope with fingers. It was thick, like it contained some kind of book or something like that. But he didn't have enough courage to open it in front of everyone.

Then came another Auror with something that looked like a featherless turkey.

"It's for you from his quarters." The Auror's face was as puzzled as Dumbledore's.

"And there was a note" He added,handing some piece of paper to the auburn-haired wizard.

'28th of July'

One week after that memorable duel, Albus Dumbledore was already in his Headmaster's Quarters, recovered and after having talked with staff.

He couldn't escape for eternity from this letter and chick, that was, without a doubt,a Phoenix.

He decided to start with this little creature. In his mind, '28th of July' was far more important than a letter left by the most dangerous wizard of their times.

Dumbledore quickly located the bottle with the writing "July - 1899" on it and poured its content into the Pensieve.

***  
>28 July 1899<p>

"...And that's why Phoenix in my opinion is more useful in battle than dragon." Finished young Albus Dumbledore, shooting daring looks in a direction of his blond companion, who was smiling with disbelief

"Well...While your arguments are making sense, I'm still sticking to dragons." Answered young Gellert Grindelwald, still smiling.

"Have you even seen a dragon?" Asked Albus, glaring at his friend.

"Yes, I have, and you will see it now" Gelert jumped off of the window-still and took out his wand.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM"

A shining, silver dragon appeared in Albus' garden. If young Dumbledore recognized it correctly it was Schwarzwaldian Black Dragon.

"THIS is your patronus?" Albus was simply amazed, but Gellert just shrugged it off, faking modesty.

When the dragon had disappeared, Gellert came closer to his friend.

"Curious, aren't they? These patronuses, I mean.." Said the blond boy "Theoretically,they are a mirror of character or feelings of their master, they are some kind of.. soul-projection.

But under strong emotions they can change their shape.

Or one can have a few patronuses, for example, if you can produce a horse-shaped one and you will fall in love with someone, whose patronus is a tiger, then yours will also change into a tiger.

But if you don't want to admit that and you will be skilled enough to control it, it will exist in its old form. It's useful if you don't want to make your feelings or character clear."

"Have you written it down ?"

"No, but someday I will. And it will land in some boring book for another generation of wizards who will have to learn from it.

"We weren't thought how to cast this spell. I wonder what would my patronus look like."

"Phoenix, Albie...Phoenix"

"What ?"

"Trust me, I know it's a Phoenix"

1945

Dumbledore was standing in front of his desk,looking at his Pensieve with accusation, as if it was it's fault that he didn't understand anything.

Now he knew that even if he was afraid of letter's content he had to read it. He had to know if his supposition was true...

With shaking hands,he opened the envelope...

' Dear Albus !

The fact that you're reading this letter is proof of your victory over me in our duel. It isn't a great surprise, after all,you were always a little better at magic than me.

But enough babbling. I left my Phoenix under your care. Or, rather your Phoenix,because it was supposed to be yours.

When I escaped from your house..I know it is an old, still running wound, but I think I should try to explain myself - I did have a reason. You see, I knew which one of us had killed Ariana. But I thought that it should remain as an unsolved mystery.

After leaving Godric's Hollow I decided to continue our revolution. I still hoped that you would join me, but on the other hand - I knew you wouldn't.

Years have passed and many wizards and Muggles that agreed with our, or rather at that time time, my, ideals joined me. At that time I had only him - Phoenix. If You've looked into the memories from 28th of July (I know you understood my notice), then you should know, why I've chosen Phoenix.

In spite of myself, I took his name from that Muggle you told me about - the bird's name is Fawkes.

Take care of him, and he will protect you and guard you. You said yourself that they were very useful, I think it's hard to disagree.

But, I must ask - why did you avoid confrontation for so long ?

I don't think that you were fearing me, You've never feared me. And probably you've never noticed, that I wasn't using you or your feelings for me.

Old Doge once said to me, that I broke your heart by using them to acomplish my plans.

I agree, you could feel that way, but...

Let me return here to this day of 28th of July - I lied. My patronus isn't a dragon. It was, before I met you, that was right,but...Let's say, that I told you enough that day.

Feelings were always just a burden for me, so why should I express that one?

Unfortunatelly, the time is up and talk won't change anything...But..Is this why you threw away our ideals ? This is why you have abandoned our revolution and decided to go against me ?

I'm not saying that I'm not proud, headstrong or severe , but it doesn't make me some kind of tyrant that needs to be destoyed, does it ?

There is no great thing without victims. And for the greater good there is always something one has to sacrifice. People, family...or even himself.

And you know it, because you sacrificed our bond to fight against me and defend Muggles. And somehow I knew it would end like this.

I also know that you won't kill me. You will imprison me probably, but you won't have me killed. I will leave your possible reasons for myself. I will be really honored if you would just send me a letter to wherever you will lock me in, because I know that you will not come to see me. You will fear that you wouldn't be able to resist my words. Or so I think,but remember- I know you well.

Dry information would be really fine, just for me to know that you're alive.

It's funny in some way - You're trying to forget me, but yet everything will remind you about me.

You have my wand

You have my Phoenix

You have our memories

And temptation to see me in my prison, I suppose.

And you probably won't believe me, but I wanted to rule this world only with you.

Take care of Fawkes.

Gellert Grindelwald. "

When Dumbledore finished reading the letter for a second time, he sat on his chair and hid his face in hands.

When tears stopped flowing, he reached to the envelope again.

He found there most of Gellert's discoveries, including an essay about patronuses. He smiled when he read the notice attached to them - "To some boring book"

Albus Dumbledore knew, that it made no sense to decieve himself, that he loved only a mask of man - he loved this Gellert as he loved his younger self. But, as his ex-friend had written - he won't tell him that. And he won't see him again. Never. But he will write letters.

For sure

Suddenly he felt claws on his arm. He turned his head and saw Fawkes, who looked at him with sympathy. And then he decided to check something...

"Expecto Patronum!" In front of him flew a silver copy of Fawkes.

"You knew...So..You had to...me..." He didn't notice that he was talking to himself. He smiled " We'll meet again someday."

1992 


	2. Chapter 2

***  
>1992 ***<br>He was looking at the little boy, who was disappearing behind the door.

'Poor Harry...' He thought with compassion and,with hesitation,he turned to the mirror once again.

What he said to Harry wasn't entirely a lie. He did see a pair of woolen socks, they were on Ariana s feet. This was how he remembered her, she wore them that day, when she died.

Now, she was looking at him from the mirror, but she looked slightly older. Behind her back stood Aberforth, who seemed to be in his mid-twenties, and was waving to him.

And there, behind the pair,he saw himself from the time when he fought with Grindelwald. In the mirror, he was in Gellert s arms and was smiling at him.

For a moment both men from the mirror stared at him,old Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, who was standing in front of the Mirror of Erised.

Albus sighed and left the chamber, lost in his thoughts. He knew that he never really wanted that duel and he never really wanted to win. But he had to, for the greater good , what irony. He had to. By doing that he saved many people Muggles and wizards alike , from a terrible fate.

But now it was a time of another Dark Lord Voldemort, bodiless, wounded spirit wandering on Earth, whose name still scared most of the wizards.

But from Dumbledore s point of view, if he never defeated Grindelwald, Gellert would probably destroy Voldemort, before he killed the Potters. He never believed in prophecies so maybe, if he stayed the Dark Lord, Harry would have parents Maybe James and Lily would be here now?

Maybe he was just being too subjective, but in his opinion, Gellert was above Riddle in everything. He had more courage, more power, he didn t fear death. He wanted to rule it, yes, but he never wanted to gain immortality in wicked ways, he would never lower himself to something like killing unicorns, he was never cruel, he

Dumbledore shook his head. He was getting old and sentimental. Gellert would probably defeat Voldemort in fight, but he would still remain a Dark Lord he would kill, torture and thirst for power

1993

Well, I m impressed, it s really something, to be able to lock one s memories in the diary and to give them power to manipulate the reader s body. Horcruxes like this are in fact fascinating. But it s still just a cowardice. I don t know, how he can still claim himself to be the greatest wizard ever if he can t face the fact, that he has to die someday. Every method of gaining immortality is treacherous, even the Hallows won t help their owner escape from Death.

I guess what s left for me is wishing you and young Potter the best luck.

Dumbledore looked again at the last sentence. He still didn t know himself why he wrote Gellert about his plan. Maybe it was just an instinct, to consult every move with him. Or maybe the imprisoned wizard was the only person whom he could tell about his plans?

Gellert didn t expect him to have solutions for every problem, he knew Albus better than anyone and he could point out every mistake made by him. And, after all it was Gellert who gave him the idea that Voldemort might have horcruxes.

He agreed with Gellert- it was a cowardice, but it showed how powerful Voldemort was And why did they agree on things like that, but on that one that led to their fight they couldn t?

Why Gellert couldn t or didn t want to see things he did as evil ?

He replied to Dumbledore s letters in a calm, polite way, he shared his wisdom and gave advice, but there was no regret or remorse in them. Only grim acceptance of his fate.

But there were times when Dumbledore wanted that blonde wizard here, with him. Maybe he would even teach Defence Against Dark Arts at Hogwarts?

Alas, the duel from 1945 broke them apart for good. Albus was now a leader of all wizards fighting with dark powers and couldn t dream of companionship of a wizard, who after defeating Voldemort, would take his place.

1994

I m amazed three Animagi under your nose I envy you such gifted youngsters I knew that something was wrong when I read articles about Black in The Prophet . I m glad that he is on your side. He s a powerful wizard Reckless and impulsive,with a hint of bravado, but strong and brave nevertheless. From your words I see that you ll need him.

By the way, I was right that hiring werewolf Lupin would be one of your best decisions. He is a very worthy member of the Order of the Phoenix Interesting name by the way. Phoenix, Albus ?

Dumbledore smiled. At first, Gellert was never to be informed about Order of The Phoenix , but only he could help them with fighting with an evil, powerful wizard- he was one too, probably the greatest (in Albus opinion) of them all.

One thing Albus found interesting, but disappointing at the same time Gellert never mentioned his letter, which he left in his Hideout in 1945, as if he never wrote it.  
>And Dumbledore was longing for some answers, he wanted to be sure that this one solution he came up with was right<p>

1994

*** 


	3. Chapter 3

1994 ***

'...I'm not proud of the fact, that the grandfather of that boy was one of my victims, but he was a sacriface that I had to make, for the Greater Good.

I know what emotions my statement causes in you, but I'm not going to change my mind - I still believe that we should stop hiding and start ruling, for the better future of Muggles and wizards alike.

Although, I must agree, that some of my methods were not acceptable. But there's no innocent during the war. That Krum murdered my secretary and her times are gone, but the blame...

Back to the topic - I'm curious about that appearance of the Death Eaters during the Quidditch World Cup, and their sudden escape after seeing the Dark Mark.  
>I have a suspicion, that the Mark was made by someone who, according to their data, was dead - that's why it caused such a fear in them. But what was its purpose? I can only guess.<p>

I'm looking forward to further information about Triwizard Tournament. My school is represented by the grandson of my enemy...I think I'll cheer on Harry. Being the fourth contestant must be hard for him. If I were you, I wouldn't let my guard down - someone had a good reason for decieving the Goblet of Fire and I'm sure, that it's not out of their sympathy for young Potter. He should be careful...'

At last, Dumbledore found what he was looking for in this letter - some kind of remorse and it gave him hope.

As for the last part, he figured as it was good to find confirmation of his suspicions in the words of the wisest(except for him) wizard . Not for the first time, he wished that Gellert would be with him, to help him protect Harry and the other students.

He became intirgued by the idea of some 'un-dead' person who made the Dark Mark. Gellert's explanation was believable,so he decided to give it a thought. Which of the Death Eaters were believed to be dead...

***  
>1995 ***<p>

'...So he returned...That young Potter impresses me more and more. He reminds me of you sometimes.

Priori incantatem...It's a painful spell, isn't it? I dare to say, that you've never cast it upon your wand. You didn't want to know the truth, am I right? You still don't want to know, who killed Ariana.

It's a curious thing, Albus, that we haven't talked for about 50 years, but we still try to protect each other. You don't want to check if it was your or my spell that took her life. And I never invaded England. I wanted to avoid fighting with you because I knew, that victory would be more bitter than loss.

I'm sentimental...Men should never grow old, it's worse than death...'

Dumbledore read the last sentence and didn't even try to stop the tears that were forming in the corners of his eyes. He was old, but he felt young and in love... Now he knew the answer, even though he never asked. He was sure of the meaning of the Gellert's reply about his patronus. But he couldn't get overwhelmed with joy. The dark times came, and he had to do everything to ensure Harry's well-being. He had to tell the world about the return of the Dark Lord.

***  
>1996 ***<p>

'...Poor boy. First his parents, now his godfather...It's sad, ideed.

But what pains me the most, is your decision. The only thing left for me is to hope, that I'll join you in short time. After you're gone, he'd probably come for me.

To be honest, I can't wait to meet a man, who sold all of his humanity to the idea of immortality. I'd never do such things, in my humble opinion.

I always knew, that you are able to do it. To sacrifice yourself for the good of others. For the greater good. See? You're making our ideals come true. It hurts me, that you're going there first.

And even though you caged me like some wild beast, I must say that even this decision made by you was good. You knew, that being imprisoned was the only thing that could destroy me. You knew, that I'd become wiser.

I never thought that I'll write this, but I'm grateful to you for this prison.

I wish you strength.

See you on the other side.'

This time Dumbledore wasn't crying. He held the letter close to his heart and looked at his poisoned and destroyed hand.

" ...little longer..." He murmured.

1997 *** 


	4. Chapter 4

I just can t believe, that it s our last letter Probably, the boy will never know what you sacrificed, how you suffered for his sake The only thing that is left for me is to follow your example. He will come for me, I m sure. And I ll probably die as one of many victims of Voldemort But you You ll be their hero, their savior, they ll remember you and try to avenge you. You ll survive in their memory If I remember correctly; we had argument about this once You told me, that being remembered by the history for some noble act is more worthy than being immortal. We ll see about that.  
>Protect our wand.<p>This letter was now hidden safely in Dumbledore s desk. The Headmaster himself was standing on the top of Astronomy Tower and talking with young Malfoy. He was waiting patiently for Severus to show up, to end it all. He wanted to be there already Maybe he could see his sister once again?<p>

And maybe, oh, maybe, the sunny moments, that happiness from those 2 months would return.

The Death Eaters had arrived. Now, the only thing that mattered was to protect Harry.

He tried to concentrate his ex-student s attention on himself, by starting a conversation. If Harry had enough discipline, he would remain silent Dumbledore s eyes started to search for Severus.

It hurt, to be insulted by the people whom he remembered as children. He taught them, he observed them, he knew them for seven years He laughed with them, he helped them with their teacher troubles, he was proud of them. And now? That bond was severed, the children turned into hateful adults, fanatics. Against his will, his mind became filled with memories form his fight with Grindelwald.. It was almost the same kind of betrayal, it hurt almost equally. Almost.

At last, Severus had shown up. Dumbledore could see, that Snape is against it, that he tries to run, to change his master s mind. But one last time, Dumbledore decided to be selfish. He asked, he even begged, and finally, Snape gave in.

The explosion of green light and it was over.

He wakes up in whiteness. Literally. He feels, that he exists, but when he opens his eyes, the only thing he can see is something that resembles a fog.

After a while, it begins to fade and Dumbledore can see a branch, and man sitting on it. Dumbledore moves closer. The man has raven hair and he is young, handsome He has the face of someone Dumbledore once knew But before reaching him it would be a good idea to get dressed. Before he can think of obtaining something to wear, he feels a silk robe on his body. Curious.

He moves to stand in front of the sitting man.

Hello, Dumbledore.

Hello, Sirius. You didn t go there? He asks, looking fondly at the young Black, who returns his smile. He looks exactly the same as he did when he was James Potter s best man. There were no traces of those 12 years that he spent in Azkaban or his entrapment in his own house, before his death.

Oh, I ll go, but I m waiting for someone. Answers Black, grinning like he was still in school and done some brilliant mischief.

For Remus? It may take years! It is a strange decision, even for Sirius.

I don t think so. By the way, you may have not noticed, but time here doesn t exist. Replies the raven-haired man, pointing at something behind Dumbledore s back. Suddenly, a wall appears as if summoned, with a big board on it, that resembles Airport Board in Muggle s Airports.

Dumbledore finds his and Sirius names on it and checks their status.

He moves his gaze higher and sees the names of Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, Colin Creevey, Nymphadora Tonks, and more of his students, all with the same status: Arrival soon

You re right. But how?

The battle over Hogwarts. It s already been almost a year since your death, Told you, that time here doesn t exist. It usually takes a while before you gather yourself into some shape. When I died, I woke up in my animagus form and I met that boy you know That young Diggory. He said that he had just woken up. And he died a year before me! It s really strange, that you don t feel how the time flows because there s no such thing! Sirius is, in Dumbledore s opinion,really excited by the fact, that something is different from the world in which almost everything is possible.

And Death Eaters ? They have a different dimension, or something, right?

I guess so. So I m really surprised to see that name on it. He points Snape s name on the board. And from Voldemort s hand, no less

Sirius doesn t see the sadness in Dumbledore s eyes.

How do you know? Asks Albus quietly.

Oh, when you want to, it shows you. Just think about the information you want to gain. By the way, not only Snape s name surprises me Hell, we were lear okay, we were taking notes from Remus about this guy! I thought, that if there was anyone more evil that Voldie, it would be him. And yet, he dies and goes here

Dumbledore immediately looks at the board. Like Sirius said, there s a very familiar, dear name on it, with a status, Arrived. Waking and Death Cause: Tom Marvolo Riddle .

There are no words to describe what Dumbledore is feeling right now- the mix of happiness, sadness, stess, pain and euphony It all ends, when he feels a piece of paper in his hand,

Approval for a meeting with Harry Potter.  
>Give him a choice he can go, or he can stay.<br>~ Boss'

That is getting more and more interesting And here he thought he had figured everything about the world out He smiles to himself and bids his farewell to Sirius. For a moment, he wants to stay, to see... But, there s still greater good that he must ensure. And after all, he should explain everything to Harry, to the young, brave Harry, who decided to end his life for his, Dumbledore s ideals. Dumbledore stops tears that are threatening to spill and,suddenly, he disappears.

Now he s watching all the events from the Harry s point of view, like he is in the boy s head or maybe he really is.

He is so moved by the boy s bravery By his talk with his parents, and Remus, and Sirius. It really is weird; to see a person that was soon-to-be-dead, dead. If he was alive, he would do his research, but for now, he waits to talk to the boy properly.

The talk goes smoothly, it turns out that, from the very beginning, Dumbledore was right, that Harry was the seventh horcrux and that he would survive, if Voldemort struck him with a lethal spell. The only thing he didn t predict was that Harry would tell him about Gellert s death In the end, he can t stop his tears, while he tells Harry the story of his family and Gellert.

When Harry disappears, Dumbledore expects to appear in that Board room again, but he still remains at the King s Cross (really, if Harry hadn t told him, he would have no idea).

After a moment he hears the sound of a train arriving at the station. When it stops, Dumbledore, with hesitation goes in In the corridors, he passes by familiar faces Colin Creevey, Fred Weasley, who is making a ruckus, arguing with the ticket controller, demanding to be allowed to return right now, or else Dumbledore tunes out the threat, smiling to himself. Afterlife can be as entertaining as normal life He passes the compartment in which Remus and Sirius are sitting and holding each other, with a very amused Tonks looking fondly at them.

Finally, he stops in front of a compartment that seems empty apart from a blond haired young man sitting there and reading a book. When he sees Albus, he smiles and waves his hand, gesturing for Albus to come in. When Dumbledore opens the door, he sees his reflection- he s a young man, the same age that he was in 1899.

He sits in front of the blonde and smiles shyly.

Told you, it was a phoenix. Says Gellert and a warm smile spreads across his face.

Albus isn t even trying to stop his tears. But this time, they re the tears of happiness. 


End file.
